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Constitutional Convention/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are visiting the National Archives in Washington, D.C. As they look at the United States Constitution on display, Moby holds out his library card. MOBY: Beep. TIM: How many times do I have to tell you? This is an original copy of the Constitution. You can't borrow it with your library card. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, why do they call the Constitution a "living document"? Thanks, Selma. Great question, Selma. You've probably heard all about what an amazing document the U.S. Constitution is. An image shows the United States Constitution. TIM: How it's a blueprint for our federal government. An image shows a blueprint of the United States Capitol building. TIM: How it unified thirteen states into one nation. A map shows the original thirteen states as a single country. TIM: And how it's lasted more than two hundred years, through hard times and even a Civil War. An animation shows calendar pages turning to indicate the passage of time. TIM: All that is true enough, but it can give you the wrong idea. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, like that the Constitution is some sacred text. Or that the Framers, the guys who wrote the thing, all agreed with each other. Or that we're meant to follow its rules exactly as they wrote them, forever. An image depicts the framers of the Constitution as angelic beings living in the clouds. They are shown in the clouds, and some are playing trumpets. George Washington looks down upon Earth, holding the Constitution in both hands as if showing it to the world. TIM: This point of view ignores the real story of how the Constitution was born. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It was May of 1787 in Philadelphia. An image shows Independence Hall in Philadelphia. A banner above the main entrance reads "Welcome Conventioneers!" Men in colonial-era clothes arrive for a meeting. TIM: Political leaders from around the nation were gathering to discuss changes to the Articles of Confederation. That was America's first constitution, written in 1776. An image shows the original Articles of Confederation document. TIM: The articles had been created almost as an afterthought to the Declaration of Independence. The Articles of Confederation document is pulled from view. Beneath it is the Declaration of Independence. MOBY: Beep. TIM: To wage war on England, the newly independent states needed to coordinate with each other. An image shows five of the original states as cartoon characters, working together to throw darts at a British flag hanging on a wall. TIM: But they didn't want to give away too much of their own power. So the Articles established a weak national congress, where each state got one vote. An image shows the states standing on one another's shoulders and dressed up in an Uncle Sam costume. The Uncle Sam figure stands before England's king, who is seated on his throne. The figure wobbles, trying to maintain its balance. TIM: All it could really do was declare war and manage foreign affairs. The figure hands the king a piece of paper reading "Declaration of War." The king points and laughs. TIM: Once the war had been won in 1783, things began falling apart. MOBY: Beep. TIM: America had borrowed enormous sums of money to finance the war. An image shows the Uncle Sam figure borrowing money from figures representing other nations. A graphic reads "1776." TIM: Now, those bills were coming due. An image shows the same two nations handing the Uncle Sam figure an I.O.U., expecting payment. A graphic reads "1783." TIM: The Confederation Congress didn't have taxing power, so it couldn't raise money to pay the debts back. Individual states owed money, too. The Uncle Sam figure turns and faces two cartoon figures representing Virginia and Massachusetts. Virginia is turning its pockets inside-out, and Massachusetts is shrugging its shoulders and holding its hands up helplessly. TIM: All of that debt was dragging down the economy, and things were starting to get ugly. An image shows the Uncle Sam figure. He is bogged down by large bags of debt being dropped on his back. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Rhode Island had basically declared that neither it nor its citizens would be paying their debts back. An image shows a cartoon figure representing Rhode Island. It is tearing up an I.O.U. TIM: And in 1786, there was a tax revolt in Massachusetts. An image shows armed and angry farmers and townspeople protesting. TIM: Shay's rebellion lasted for months, and there was nothing the Articles Congress could do about it. Eventually, a local militia managed to put it down. An image shows a militia confronting the angry protestors. TIM: But it was a wake-up call for the country. If America couldn't pay off its debts, no one would do business with it. And if it couldn't keep the peace, how would it defend its own borders? An image shows a French newsboy selling a newspaper with the headline "America Broke, Defenseless." MOBY: Beep. TIM: Everyone going to the Philadelphia Convention saw the need for a stronger central government. But just how strong was a matter of fierce debate. An image shows a large number of representatives gathering at Independence Hall. TIM: Fifty-five delegates from twelve states met over the course of that summer to decide. They elected George Washington to preside, since he was the most trusted among them. An animation shows the packed interior of Independence Hall. George Washington is seated at a table on stage. The crowd of representatives is waving and cheering. Washington waves in return. TIM: Despite the heat, they kept the windows shut and the drapes drawn. Because if the public knew what they were planning, it might have triggered another rebellion. An animation shows a young man outside of Independence Hall sitting on the shoulders of another, trying to look in through the window. Someone inside closes the window and shuts the curtains. MOBY: Beep. TIM: James Madison set the tone for the convention with a bold plan. Instead of just fixing the Articles of Confederation, he proposed scrapping it entirely. His Virginia Plan called for a government composed of a legislative, executive, and judicial branch. An image shows Madison explaining his Virginia Plan, using a large diagram and a pointer. Parts of the diagram are highlighted as Tim describes Madison's idea. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yup, just like today, and his legislature even had two houses. The government would have authority over anything the states couldn't handle themselves. It could also veto any state laws it didn't like. An image shows a muscular Uncle Sam in a superhero costume, surrounded by childlike cartoon characters representing states. One state is playing with a pile of building blocks, which Uncle Sam kicks over. TIM: So, a strong national government overseeing weaker states. Uncle Sam strikes a superhero pose. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yup, pretty much the exact opposite of the Articles. Madison's plan scared some delegates, but just as many were frightened by the economic slump. They were wealthy men who tended to favor a powerful government. A downward graph line represents a falling economy. TIM: It would stabilize the economy, which would benefit their businesses. The graph line hits an icon representing the government, and then starts moving upward. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The Virginia Plan also called for proportional representation in both houses of congress. Madison's Virginia Plan diagram returns to the screen. TIM: States with more people got more representatives in each house. A map of the original thirteen states shows the number of representatives each state would get under the Virginia Plan. TIM: That way, instead of states getting decision-making power over the country's direction, the people would. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Nope, delegates from small states weren't too keen on that idea. They knew that Madison's plan would give them less power than the Articles government. An image shows Madison explaining his plan to some delegates. A delegate from a smaller state sits to one side, his back to Madison and making a "thumbs down" gesture. TIM: Led by William Patterson, they proposed the New Jersey Plan. The seated delegate stands and walks over to a diagram titled "New Jersey Plan." Graphics illustrate Tim's description of the plan as he continues. TIM: It kept the Confederation Congress intact, but gave new powers, like collecting taxes. Like the Virginia Plan, it called for an executive and judicial branch. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right. The legislature was the biggest difference between the two plans. Which should be represented, states or people? Images represent the Capitol Building, America's thirteen states, American citizens, and a question mark. TIM: The delegates argued this point into July, keeping the windows closed through a brutal heat wave. An animation shows the delegates arguing fiercely in Independence Hall, with diagrams of both the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan on display. TIM: Opponents of Madison's plan said it was illegal. The Convention didn't have the authority to create a new government. It seemed that there was no middle ground, and the convention would be a failure. Finally, Roger Sherman put forward the Connecticut Compromise, or Great Compromise. It gave each state two representatives in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. An image shows Roger Sherman presenting a diagram of his proposal. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it may seem obvious to you, but this was a new thing back then. Anyway, the question of representation raised another thorny issue, slavery. Southern states knew they'd be outnumbered in the House of Representatives. And a Northern majority might push through legislation outlawing slavery. A delegate map illustrates the situation Tim is describing. TIM: To boost their power in the House, Southern delegates proposed that slaves count toward the number of representatives they got. Northerners didn't think it was fair to count people who wouldn't even be allowed to vote. And secretly, abolitionists like Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton probably did want to outlaw the slave trade. An image shows Hamilton and Franklin looking silently upon the debating delegates. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, plenty of people back then were opposed to slavery. Even Madison, a slave owner, called it a "barbarous practice." But if Southern delegates walked out of the convention, it would have spelled the end of the United States. Again, a last-minute settlement was reached, the Three-Fifths Compromise. For the purposes of representation, states could count three-fifths of their slaves. A diagram represents the terms of the Three-Fifths Compromise. TIM: And Congress was barred from making any laws about slavery for twenty years. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, that's my point. The Framers were smart guys, but they were far from perfect. Most of them were just trying to protect the interests of the people they represented. The document they hammered together that summer wasn't perfect, either. An image shows the delegates lined up to sign the U.S. Constitution, as George Washington looks on. TIM: Everybody was equally dissatisfied with it. But the Framers understood that no single document would settle their arguments. That wasn't the purpose of the U.S. Constitution. An image shows the banner inside Independence Hall changing from "Philadelphia Convention" to "Constitutional Convention." MOBY: Beep. TIM: Its purpose was to keep those arguments going. If you think about it, that's all our government is, a 200-year-old debate about how to run the country. That's why the Framers included a way to add amendments, or changes, to the Constitution. An animation symbolizes the process of amending the Constitution. TIM: In fact, the nation added ten amendments before every state had even adopted it. These are known as the Bill of Rights. Since then, we've added seventeen more. Some of them actually reverse rules from the original document. An animation shows newspapers with headlines reading "Slavery Finished," "Alcohol Banned," "Now Gals Vote, Too!" and "Alcohol Un-banned." TIM: So when we say the Constitution is alive, we mean that it changes with the times. And that's definitely a good thing. MOBY: Beep. Moby is holding a box of crayons. He removes one and gets ready to make a mark on the displayed Constitution. Tim grabs Moby's hand. TIM: Don't even think about it. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts